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Published: February 10, 2009

Each week that Congress is in session, Washington correspondent Sean Mussenden will sit down with a different member of the North Carolina delegation for an in-depth interview on issues of importance.

The answers have been condensed for space and are not direct quotes:

Q. Why did you join most Republicans in voting against an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program to cover an additional 4 million kids?

A. The program was originally designed to provide health insurance to lower-income children whose parents made too much to qualify for Medicaid. But it has been modified to the point that some kids who qualify for coverage are denied because some states used the money to cover adults. We should return the program to its original purpose. Also, the expansion was financed with an increase in the federal cigarette tax to $1.01 per pack, an effort by Democrats to put tobacco farmers and tobacco companies out of business.

Q. Tobacco companies and anti-smoking advocates agree that raising cigarette taxes reduces smoking rates. Isn't that a worthwhile goal?

A. It is, but the government should not tell people how to lead their lives. I love butter, and I probably use too much of it. If they increase tobacco taxes to stop people from smoking, what's to stop Democrats from increasing taxes on butter to keep people from eating butter?

Q. You joined every Republican in voting against the $819 billion economic recovery package that just passed the House, arguing that most of the spending programs would not immediately create jobs. Were any of the spending programs worthwhile?

A. Not that I can recall. There is a possibility that some of the spending on roads and bridges could create jobs, but a lot of the money will not be spent for years.

Q. Gov. Bev Perdue says that the state faces a $2 billion budget deficit this year, and the package contained at least $1 billion to fill that gap. What about that money?

A. I've read the Constitution. I don't see anything that says the federal government should balance state budgets. Why should we bail out irresponsibility? The state needs to take care of its own spending problems.

Q. As a former teacher, what grade would you assign to President Obama's first few weeks in office?

A. I wouldn't grade a student this early in the term. I certainly don't agree a lot with the executive orders he has signed. I appreciated his meeting with House Republicans. I take him at his word that he wants to be bipartisan and he wants the country to succeed. We want him to succeed because we want our country to succeed.